Vicious
by Riku's Girlfriend-Saphira
Summary: There are days when Lord Ansem refuses to take pity on you. Today is one of those days. Crap. AU! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

The princess looked out over the war lands, a tired look on her face.

"Blow it up."

"As you wish, Princess."

Fire covered the lands, and a calm smile appeared on the princess's face.

"Thank you, Sora."

"Not at all, Princess."

She controlled everything, from the grasslands of Daloria, to the ice caps of Encante, and all the other regions of the Empire of Daloria. When her mother died, she would have the throne to herself, and when she did, all would bow down to her command.

She would be seen as a_ goddess_.

The princess chuckled to herself quietly. "In due time." she whispered.

The carriage came to a halt. She pulled her fur-lined hood over her head and bundled her leather coat closer to her body as she slowly stepped out, snow crunching under her boots. Her slave girl, Vanille, followed behind her, already shivering.

"Mi'lady, may I stay in the carriage?"

Xion nodded quietly.

Sora, her guard, rode away to park the carriage elsewhere.

Soon, her boots were clicking against the polished floors of the castle belonging to her enemy. The king of Encante wanted to end this war. She just didn't know how he intended to do so.

"Ah, welcome, Princess Alyson." the king greeted warmly.

She hugged him lightly. "Hello, King Sephiroth. I go by Xion now. Gives me a more kick ass feeling."

He chuckled. "I'm sorry, mi'lady."

"No harm done."

"Excuse my son for bringing this war upon your kingdom. My attempts to silence him were futile."

Xion nodded. She understood how stubborn he could be. She had met him on few occasions before the war.

Sephiroth cleared his throat. "Riku!"

A young man entered the small lavish room, looking very annoyed.

"Yes, Father?"

His voice wasn't too deep, or to light, but it had just enough masculinity to make Xion's face pinkish.

"Your enemy is here."

Riku walked up to Xion and kissed her hand, making her blush harder.

"What a pretty lady to be up against, yes?" the king smiled.

"I will be your ruler in a couple of years." Xion said, pulling her hand away. "Why revolt against me?"

"Because I do not want to be ruled over by some woman."

She glared at Riku. "And my mother? Does she not count as a woman?"

"She does. You are just a little more arrogant than she."

Without thinking, Xion clasped her hand over Riku's throat. "Don't you _ever_ insult me." she whispered in his ear.

"Feisty." He croaked. "I like this one."

She squeezed harder.

The king cleared his throat again. Xion slowly let go of Riku's neck. He coughed and glared at her.

She smiled evilly.

Namine, Riku's little sister, poked her head into the doorway. "Father?"

"Yes, Namine?"

"Where's the chicken pot pie?"

"In the kitchen, Namine."

Xion quirked an eyebrow.

"She's not sane." Riku whispered.

Xion raised both eyebrows in surprise. "Okay then."

Namine quickly skipped out of the room, singing something about chicken being awesome.

"Well, I am going to leave you two to yourselves. Good luck, Xion."

"Thank you." She whispered back.

As soon as Sephiroth left the room, Riku pulled Xion into a hug. He stroked her hair.

Xion kicked him where the sun don't shine and back flipped until she reached the wall.

"And I thought Namine was crazy."

"She is."

"And you're not?"

He grinned as he slowly pulled a knife out of his pocket. "You're really pretty. How about we get married and end this war?"

He was very handsome, with long, silvery hair and beautiful green eyes. The offer was tempting. _But this man is crazy_, she thought as she pulled her favorite dagger out her boots.

His voice broke her thoughts. "You know you have nothing left to fund for it, and your mother, your queen, is struggling on her deathbed. My kingdom can continuously fund for you if you only marry me. I'm not asking for you to sleep with me, unless you choose to."

Xion glared at him. "You're crazy." she stated simply.

"Only for you."

_Is that what this entire war is about?_ "Save my mother. Can you do that?"

Riku nodded hesitantly. "Depends on her illness."

"Cancera." she stated gravely.

"Oh. Have you tried—"

"Both White and Black Magik were ineffective."

"Black Magik is offensive magik."

"I know. The doctors used minimal amounts of ice radiation. Any more of it and they would have killed her."

"Alyson..." He was genuinely concerned. It showed on his face.

"It's _Xion_." she snapped. Her family was her weakness. And she couldn't let him know that. "So can you help her or not?"

"I will help if you marry me."

"I refuse to..." she faltered. This was her mother, her lifeline. It was all depending on her answer.

She realized she couldn't rule a kingdom on her own.

She grabbed her coat and pulled it back on over her black and red long-sleeved dress. "I...I will send you the wedding plans later on this month."

He smiled. "May I kiss you?"

She turned back and quickly pecked his lips before walking-no, running-out the door.

"And the lonely prince wallows in self-hatred..." He whispered to himself.

Namine appeared in the doorway. "Is she gone?"

He nodded.

"Did she accept your proposal?"

"Yes. Are you sure she is the right one? I mean, remember what happened to–"

"_I'm positive_." she snapped quickly. "Besides, Father doesn't need to know, and if you don't keep your mouth shut, I'll kill you before you can tell Alyson the real reason you married her."

He glared at her ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm going to visit an old friend in Cantu Verdi."

"Oh, well, tell her I said hi!" she said cheerfully.

"You know Kairi?"

"Of course, brother! She's like the sister I always wanted, but instead I got you!" She grinned.

He grabbed his coat. "Quit reading my mind, witch."

"All a part of the charm!"

* * *

><p>"You're getting married?" Kairi asked, quietly masking her pain.<p>

She was in love with Riku. But he didn't know that. She was going tell him, but he came with this–shocking news.

"Yeah! Aren't you happy? And she's so beautiful!" He gushed with happiness.

"Of course, Riki! It's just..."

"What?"

"It's just...she doesn't love you back. It's kind of like an arranged marriage, don't you think?"

His expression softened. "Kairi, what are you saying? You don't like her?"

She squirmed under his gaze. Did she see pity in his eyes?

"I'm just saying, she could be different from what you know. I'm worried for you."

Kairi's indigo eyes sparkled with sadness and-pain? What is she trying to say, he thought.

"I'll be fine. Stop worrying." he said, turning away.

"I can't help it. I...I love you."

He stood stock-still at the sound of the confession. He didn't understand, or know how to react. "Kairi..." He trailed off, not sure where to go from there.

Now she's angry. "Are you truly that dense? I want you stay with me, not that horrible princess!"

"But I can't do that. The date's been set." He lied. He had to get out. The seriousness was _killing_ him.

"Why?"

He sighed. "I can't take this." He walked out the door of her apartment.

She broke down on the living room floor, torn because the one that would comfort her was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>Heyyyy! I decided to take a break from WH. And in that time, I came up with this. Should I continue it?<strong>

**And tell me if you like it or not. Bcuz I kinda like this one. Idk why…..**

**Anywho! I love you all! Review and I'll gave you a cookie!**

**Have a good nite. Love ya!-**

**Saphira **


	2. Chapter 2: What Just Happened?

Xion pushed her black hair out of her eyes and continued to punch at her trainer, Aqua, until she dodged and back-flipped away, and began walked over to her blue glitter-covered water bottle. "Time out." she said softly.

Her voice is naturally that soft, right, Xion asked mentally.

"Sure." She walked over and smiled, running her fingers through her hair, catching her finger in a knot in the red streak in it, and struggled to pull it out.

Aqua giggled quietly.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. It's just you act exactly like my daughter."

"Really? How old is she?"

"Ten." Aqua readjusted her long blue ponytail.

"How adorable!"

Aqua smiled as she gracefully bent down to pick up a wooden pole. "Time to learn something new today."

Xion felt eager as she pulled out her favorite weapons: two identical shimmering samurai swords. "What is it?"

"Channel your black magik through your swords."

Xion slowly pointed the blade at Aqua's neck. She quickly reacted by swinging the pole directly at hilt, while front-flipping to land behind Xion. The blade clattered out of her hand.

"Damn. You're pretty agile at thirty."

"I'm twenty-nine, smart ass. Fourteen years isn't a big difference."

Xion grinned. She picked up her blade and tried again. This time, however, a small spark of something that resembled a fire attack fizzled out of her sword.

Aqua chuckled. "Try again." she said as she began packing her things into her white duffle bag. "Have at least Firen mastered by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Xion looked worried. She'll never have it down by tomorrow!

"Yup!" Aqua cheerfully waved to Xion as she walked out of the gym at the back of extravagant palace in the city of Remrain, capital of Daloria.

Aqua happily walked down the dirt road towards the little cottage she and her family lived in. She burst through the doors of her home to be greeted by her daughter, Adele.

"Hi, baby! Where's Daddy?"

"Hi, Mommy! He's in the kitchen, cooking duck."

Aqua gasped playfully, and picked the little girl up in her arms, placing her on her hips. "I like duck. Don't you, Adele?"

Adele nodded and grinned.

Aqua walked over to her husband, Xehanort, and quietly pecked his cheek. "You're not one to cook. Hmm... Sexy." she whispered in his ear.

Xehanort grinned triumphantly. "So, my plan IS working!"

She chucked at him, and put Adele on the floor. "I'm going to shower."

"I'll call you when dinner's ready."

She nodded as she walked up the stairs towards her bathroom. She closed the door behind her and looked in the mirror. A tired young woman, with deep blue eyes and a tan complexion, stared back at her. She stripped and showered and as she wrapped the towel around her thin figure, she thought about her husband.

Xehanort Tigren. He's thirty-five. Tanned skin, beautiful honey brown eyes and hair to match, and a fairly built body.

Every girl in her tiny village, with the exception of herself, had wanted him, but he wanted Aqua. He asked for her father's blessing, which immediately said yes, and whisked her away, to his home in Remrain.

She had tried to run away multiple times, and as a punishment, he raped her.

And that's how Adele got here.

Aqua laid a hand against her lower abdomen. She nodded to herself. She will tell him over dinner.

* * *

><p>Xion had given up on the Firen technique, and tried the Icet next. That one seemed a bit easier, and she had mastered it in no time.<p>

Thundrum was trickier to master. For then tenth time that night, Xion attempted to channel electricity through the hilt to the blade.

Suddenly, Vanille burst through the doors of the gym, quickly ducking from the random lightning bolt, and scurried toward Xion. "Mistress!" Her face was flushed with worry.

"Calm down. What is the matter?" She went into serious mode immediately.

She allowed Vanille to catch her breath, as she pulled her jaw-length hair back into a short ponytail.

"There's a visitor for you, at the front gate. He says he knows you."

"Oh? Is he ominous?"

Vanille shook her head as they walked towards the doors. Xion put her swords back into the sheaths on her waist.

"Not really."

At the gates, a man in a dark suit stood waiting. "Excuse me? Uh, Alyson?"

Xion peered over the silver and black gates at him. "Terra? Brother?"

"So you remember me?" His deep voice sounded happy to be recognized. He brushed his brown bangs out of his tanned face.

"Terra...!" Xion was genuinely shocked.

Terra was supposed to be dead.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey. Chapter 2 is up. obviously. =)<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: What the Hell?

"How are you alive? I watched you die..."

Xion pushed through the gates and hugged Terra.

He looked down at her face. "Am I dead now?"

"But it's not possible! You are dead. They cut your freaking head off with an axe." Tears had begun to fall off of her curly black eyelashes.

"You're not one to cry, sister."

She grabbed him by the hands and pulled him through the gates. "I don't care what Mother says. You're my brother. You're still royalty."

He sighed. "Alyson..."

She had already dragged him through the doors of the gym.

She turned to him and grinned. "What's up?"

"Alright, I'm going to put this out there. I am dead."

"Then how are you in front of me?"

"The god, Ansem, brought me back for a mission."

"A mission? Of what kind?"

"I'm here to protect you."

"I don't need protecting." Xion's expression hardened.

"I've heard the rumors. Are you really marrying the prince?"

She sighed heavily.

"Alyson, speak to me. Tell me the truth."

"Uh...yes?"

Terra whistled a low note and ran his tanned fingers through his short, brown hair. "You know I'm going to have to kick his ass, right?"

"Yeah. Terra?"

"Yes?"

"Don't kill Riku, okay?"

"I won't kill him. I'll just...injure him greatly. To the point of near death."

She glared at him as he chuckled heartily. As he caught his breath, the air in the room began to drip with tension. Xion had a question on her tongue, and it wouldn't come off.

"So, um, what's it like to die?"

He looked up. "I'm not answering that."

"Why?"

"It's not the real question you're trying to ask. Spit it out." He knew her too well.

"Why are you really here?"

She didn't believe the "mission" story he told.

"I died when you were four. I never got a chance at a real life. I'm here to save Mom and to find love."

Xion was speechless. "How...old are you?"

"Thirty."

"You died..." She calculated it mentally. "...Eleven years ago?"

He nodded.

"Wow. Oh my Goddess."

He scratched the back of his head. "Hey, Squish?"

Squish was his nickname for her.

"Hm?"

"Where am I gonna sleep?"

"Where did you sleep before?"

"A hotel. Can I have some money to pay them later?"

She chuckled to herself as she went to get her wallet. When she came back, she frowned.

Terra was sleeping in the small corner near the weaponry. She ran back and brought him a small blanket. Vanille had gone to bed while she was absent. Xion sighed as she trudged up the stairs for the third time that night.

* * *

><p>Riku hung his coat on the rack near the front door. He yawned as he walked up the stairs towards his room. In his room, which consisted of dark blue walls and dark wood flooring, Riku crawled into bed, said his prayers to the goddess, and fell asleep.<p>

Namine poked her head into his room quietly. When she saw that he was asleep, she slipped back out and down the stairs. Her room was on the top floor, but she had left a pot to simmer too long, and tiptoed her way back to turn it off.

In the dungeon (her father liked to call it that. It's just a basement.), Namine's eyes began to glow red, compared to the vibrant blue they usually were. They, the gods, were trying to speak to her again, and she wasn't having it.

She cut the power to her overflowing pot on her stove.

'The poison marshmallows burned!' she thought. 'My rice crispies are ruined!'

Karma! Haravela, a goddess, yelled. She laughed.

"Shut up, Haravela." Namine muttered.

* * *

><p>Aqua braided her hair intricately as she walked down the stairs in her favorite dress. Xehanort liked for her appearance to please him at dinner. Her dress was green, with small black and gold accents here and there, and long lace sleeves.<p>

Both Adele and her husband looked up to see her. She bent down to her daughter.

"Adele," she whispered. "Can you go upstairs for Mommy? Daddy and I are going to have a grown-up talk."

She nodded. Picking up her plate of duck and mashed potatoes, Adele quietly left the tiny dining room.

"Xehanort, I have to talk to you."

He looked up. "What's the matter, dearest?"

"Cut the crap. Adele's upstairs."

He glared at her.

She smiled. "Listen, first of all, I'm pregnant. Again. And secondly..."

"It's not my baby."

He learns quickly. Crud.

She nodded. He stood from his seat and walked over to her. "Whose baby is it?" he asked quietly. He was beginning to tower over her, and it was intimidating.

Aqua backed up against the wall. "A man by the name of Terra."

* * *

><p>yo yo yo! heyy! Chappie three is up! Booyaka! lol. anywho, the peeps that reviewed,<p>

THAAAAAAANK YOU!

lol. Love Ya-

Saphira


	4. Chapter 4: Whoa

Kairi crawled out of bed and stared in the mirror. A long red braid with random black streaks fell down her back. A knock on her door broke her concentration. In her robe, she shuffled down the stairs and towards the door.

"Sora?"

"Hey, Kairi." He was holding roses and a box of chocolate close to his thick coat.

"Come in. It's like negative fifty degrees out there."

He smiled and stepped inside. She pulled him to the dining room. "Let me change. I'll be back in a sec."

Kairi walked up the stairs and quickly slipped into a dark purple dress. She left her hair braided out of laziness. She skipped back down the stairs. "Are you still there?"

"Yes. Kairi, I have something to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"I love you and I was wondering if you loved me back?"

She cocked her head to the side. She's sure she didn't hear him right. "What?"

"I love you?" He posed it as a question, as if he was unsure.

"Um..."

"Anyway," he quickly skipped over the subject as if it never was. "I've come to give you a mission."

"Hm? Of what kind?"

"Kill the princess."

* * *

><p>Riku woke up with a start. He didn't dream about Xion just now, did he? He loves her, yes, but Namine needed her for something else. Namine can see his dreams.<p>

He's gotta start dreaming about puppies or something.

He laughed to himself and stretched. He scratched his head and got up. He walked down the stairs in his boxers and into the kitchen. On the counter, a box of chocolates and roses sat beside a neatly placed card labeled Namine.

"Namine?" he called. She came out of a closet, looking quite disheveled.

"What?"

"There are gifts for you."

"What? Who the hell would give me gifts?"

She picked up the card while munching on some toast.

"Can I have a piece?"

"Get your own damn toast, Riku." she snapped. "My toast."

He chuckled as he put the bread in the toaster. "Who's it from?"

"It's from Kairi! How sweet of her!"

"What?"

"She sent chocolate as a good luck present."

"I don't need luck. I need chocolate, though." Riku opened the box and picked up a dark chocolate truffle, but Namine slapped it out of his hand.

Her eyes flashed red. "It's poisonous."

"No, it's not."

Her eyes narrowed. "Cut it open, then. Prove me wrong."

He pulled a knife out of the kitchen drawer and sliced the treat open.

The part of the blade that touched the inside of the chocolate disintegrated.

Namine took the box and placed it in the trash. If any of the other treats break, it'll burn a hole in the bottom. "Told ya so."

* * *

><p>Aqua looked in the mirror again. The bruises on her neck and arms were too obvious for any concealer. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and sighed. Xion's going to notice. And ask. And be nosy.<p>

Aqua pulled her short blue tennis dress over her head. The long sleeves helped cover something, so she went with that. She walked Adele to school, and headed towards the castle.

When she entered, she found Terra sleeping near her weapons.

Totally normal.

Wait...

"Terra?" She stepped closer to him, brushing her fingers against his face. His eyes fluttered, and he looked up.

"Aqua? What are you-?"

"I work here." She tenderly kissed his forehead. "What about you?"

"Well-"

"Hey, Aqua! What's...up?" Xion skipped into the room, and stopped short as soon as she saw the couple.

"Hi, Xion. You know Terra?"

"Yeah. He's my brother. And you know him how exactly?"

"We're together." Terra answered, and grasped Aqua's hand.

"And I'm carrying his baby."

"Really? Is it a boy or a girl?" He looked up excitedly.

Xion put her hands on her hips. "Explain now."

Aqua smiled and sat down next to Terra. "Not sure. I haven't got a chance to go to the doctor yet. And besides, it's too early to tell. Xion, come sit by me."

"Fine." Xion went to sit down beside her. "Aren't you married to Xehanort, Aqua?"

She sighed. "Sadly, yes. But Terra and I were together long before that. He proposed to me a week before he died. He was so sweet."

"So, why are you with Xehanort?"

"My father liked Xehanort, because he was rich, and after I started working with you, I was forced into marriage with him. Terra had died the week before."

"So you're saying Terra asked you to marry him, then he died, and Xehanort decided to take advantage of that?"

Aqua nodded. "A year later, Adele was born. In the hospital, I had a dream Terra would come back to me, but I doubted it because of his death. And Lezarta herself talked to me, in my room, the night before Terra came back to Remrain. She told me the hotel location and everything. I followed the goddess's directions, and found him standing and waiting at the door of Holiday Inn."

Terra smiled. "And the rest," he kissed Aqua's forehead, "is history."

Xion pouted. "What are you guys gonna do now?"

His eyebrows drew together thoughtfully. "She could divorce him."

Aqua quickly shook her head. "He would beat me senseless."

Terra stared at her. "He beats you?" The softness of his voice didn't change the fact that she could hear the anger in it.

She nodded and showed him and Xion her bruises. She snatched Aqua's hands close to her and enveloped her marks in a soft white light. They disappeared in minutes.

"White Magik..." Aqua was in awe. She had never seen it up close before. She and her family only practiced Black Magik.

Xion grinned triumphantly. "It's actually one of my strengths."

Terra smiled. "So we're all cool?"

Xion nodded. "We're cool."

"Good. But you know I'm gonna have to kill Xehanort, right?"

Aqua chuckled and picked up her silver and blue staff. "As long as I get to help."

* * *

><p>Hey, peeps. so do guys like it? it's different. and different is good. right? what do you think's gonna happen next?<p>

=D Love ya-

Saphira


	5. Chapter 5: OH CRAP!

"Wake up, Princess Xion."

"Go away." Xion grumbled, sinking farther into her peacock feather mattress.

"Don't make me get the motor oil. Remember what happened last time?"

She jumped out of bed so fast, she tripped and fell. "Kairi, help."

Kairi stuck out a hand and helped her up.

"Thanks."

"It's my job. Oh, your schedule says you have a date."

"I don't wanna goooooo!" Xion whined.

"Aqua will be accompanying you."

"Yes! What time?"

"Well, there's brunch at ten. Then there's a movie and roller-skating, and then there's dinner."

"I'm spending the whole day with him!"

"Afraid so."

"Crap." Xion sat on her bed, pouting.

Aqua came bounding into Xion's bedroom. "Hey, guys! What's up?"

Kairi mumbled a 'Hello' before she spaced out. She began to mumbling incoherent words.

"I've got a date with Riku."

Aqua chuckled at Xion's sour behavior. She sat down next to her. "Relax. Terra and I are come with you as bodyguards. I'm allowed to bring a friend along."

"Did you use magic?" Xion's eyes narrowed.

"Only a little." Aqua grinned sheepishly.

"But you're not allowed to use magic outside of your home town."

"And? How will they know I used family magic?"

"I don't know."

"Exactly."

"Grr..."

"Love you too, Fluffy. Now get dressed." Aqua took Kairi's arm and dragged her out of the room. By then, Kairi's had come back to reality to see Kairi glaring at her. She pushed her against the wall.

"Listen," she growled, "keep your hands off the princess. You think I didn't hear you chanting under your breath? Don't try me, child. I can kill you in less than five seconds. Watch your back, bitch. And have a nice day!" Aqua walked away with a small spring in her step. Kairi blinked.

"Jeez. Rude." Kairi muttered as she walked in the other direction, to the conference room.

* * *

><p>"Aqua, in here." Terra beckoned her into the queen's chambers.<p>

"What are you-?"

She cut herself off as Terra waved a red crystal over his mother's sleeping figure. It began to glow as he mumbled something Aqua couldn't hear. When the queen's eyes begin to flutter, Terra pulled Aqua closer and hid in the closet. In an awkward position, she whispered, "What did you just do?"

"I healed Mom."

Silence settled over them until Aqua's curiosity became overwhelming.

"How are we gonna get out of here?"

"Doesn't your family have a spell for that?"

"Just because I come from a family of famous spell weavers doesn't mean I know every spell in the book." She glared at him.

He kissed her nose softly. "Teach it to me."

"But the teleportation spell only works for one being. Plus you're the one with the Encante crystal. Where'd you get that anyway?"

"The mines. One of the workers forged it for me. Do you think it'll help increase the spell's magik?"

How does he have those kinds of connections? "Maybe."

Terra handed the silver chain to Aqua as she bit down on her thumb to draw blood. She drew a circle in Terra's palm, and placed the crystal and the chain in the middle. Terra looked up to see her shivering. "Aqua, is something wrong?"

"Someone else is sensing me," she said hollowly. "Someone else is in the castle and they're looking for me."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know. But we need to leave now." Aqua began to smear her blood onto the crystal. She whispered the word teleport, and instantly, they were in the courtyard of the castle. She dropped to her knees, and Terra knelt down alongside her.

"Aqua, tell me what you need."

Her face began to drain of color. "Behind you," she whispered.

He whipped around to see Xehanort lumbering towards him. He grabbed Terra by the neck.

Aqua stumbled to her feet. "Terra!" She shot her hand out at Xehanort and blue electricity snaked up his arms. He let go and writhed in pain. Terra hit the floor and crawled to Aqua. She knelt down.

"Aqua?" He croaked.

"Yes, Terra? What is it?"

"Come closer."

Aqua obeyed and sat down next to him.

"Closer." he said.

She bent down to the point where their noses were almost touching. He kissed her softly and whispered, "Gotcha."

As he sat up, she punched him in the arm and scooted away from him. "Meanie."

He grinned and pulled her by the waist into his lap. "Love you too, sweetheart. Hey, isn't he your husband?"

She nodded.

"Is he dead?" Terra kicked Xehanort's unconscious body gently.

She crawled over and checked his pulse. "No, sadly."

He chuckled. "You really want him dead, don't you?"

"Yup!" she said brightly.

"Why don't you just kill him now while you have the chance?"

"Because I want to watch him suffer." She knew what she wanted.

"You're so twisted sometimes, you know that, right?"

She grinned in response.

Sora poked his head out of the palace doors. "Aqua, are you and your friend ready to leave?"

"Does it look like it, Sora?"

"I don't know, ma'am." He smirked.

"Wipe that smile of your face, boy. I'll call you when I'm ready."

Sora glared at Aqua and left.

"Where are we gonna put his body?"

"I'll carry him to my place. He won't remember anything, anyway. Plus I wanna put on my pretty dress. The white and yellow and brown one with straps." She seemed to glow at the thought of it.

He chuckled quietly. "How are you gonna carry him?"

"I'm pretty strong, Aqua. Don't underestimate me, understand?"

He smiled as he stood up. He helped Aqua up, and watched as she lugged Xehanort's heavy figure out of the courtyard.

He turned around and headed inside. "I've got a date in," he looked at the clock, "two hours. To the shower!"

* * *

><p>Namine stretched and sat up. What is this year's symbol again? Her incredible memory seemed to be failing her. She didn't know why, but she needed to know.<p>

'It's not the Firen Eclipse, nor the Thundrum's Storm...'

She scratched her head. What was it? Something in the back of her head began to claw at the walls of her mind. 'Tigren... It has something to do with a tigren... This is the year of Icet, maybe that has something to do with it...'

The clawing got louder. Namine needed to know why she needed this information. She got up and looked at her calendar. Riku's birthday is coming up. The festival of Cantu Verdi is close, as well.

Then it hit her.

The year of the Icet Tigren, or rather, the year of the Ice Tiger. Cantu Verdi celebrates the Tigren at the festival. And her brother's birth sign is the same animal.

Why is that of significance? It could be just coincidence.

Namine chuckled to herself. The gods purposely told her this. But why?

August 23 is Riki's birthday. She stared at the calendar again.

8/23/2083

The numbers were suspicious. She bit her tongue. She had to figure it out. Before it decided to kill her.

Namine yawned. She'll worry about it after breakfast.

* * *

><p>Riku smiled and winked in the mirror. "The sexiest man on Earth has a date today."<p>

"Get out the freaking bathroom, Princess Riku! How long does it take you to do your hair?" Namine banged on the door of the bathroom for the fourth time that morning.

"Alright! Five more minutes!"

She groaned. "Jeez!"

As soon as Riku stepped out, Namine slid in. "See ya, suckers!" she yelled as she locked the door behind her.

Riku stepped into his carriage and rode off to his destination.

* * *

><p>Kairi smiled to herself as she answered the phone. "Hello?"<p>

"Ah, my beautiful daughter! How have you been, Kairi?"

"Fine, Papa. And yourself?"

"Happy as a clam. The law enforcement is off my back, but now it turns out my brother is the King of Encante!"

Kairi's face drained of all color. "What?"

"Yup! And that means the prince is your cousin! Ain't that great?"

"Of course," she commented weakly. "I'll have to call you later, Papa. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye."

"Bye." Kairi hung up first.

Riku's her cousin? Why the hell is she finding out now? Wait... She tried to poison Namine. What if Riku ate it instead? He hasn't talked to her since the fight. Now she was confused. She confessed her love for her cousin. But her cousin is in love with her enemy, who, by the way, hates him back. 'If I killed Xion-'

"Kairi?" Sora put a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

"Hm?" Kairi broke out of her revelry and looked up at Sora.

"I asked if you were okay."

One look into Sora's eyes, and Kairi's emotions went crazy.

Maybe he's been waiting all along.

She bit her lip to keep her composure. "I'm fine, Sora. Thank you for your concern."

"Anytime. Are you ready to leave?"

"I'm not going."

"Yeah, but I need someone to keep me company." He smiled.

"I'll ride with you if you drop me off at my place."

"It's a deal."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hey! So are you guys enjoying it so far? Things just got REAL damn ugly! Greeeeat! Lol. Thx for reading and reviewing!<strong>_

_**Love Ya-**_

_**Saphira**_


	6. Chapter 6: Say Whaaaat?

"How do I look?" Xion whirled around in her silk purple dress with satin lace. Her black heels clicked against the stone floor.

"You look good."

"Thanks, Aqua. You're not too bad, yourself. Is Terra here yet?"

"No, he's in the bathroom, finishing up." Aqua started to walk towards the carriage.

"Why?" Xion scurried after her.

As Aqua got in the carriage, her cream, brown, and pale blue dress fluttered. "I don't know."

"Hey, guys!" Terra ran after Xion, sliding in and sitting next to Aqua. Xion climbed in after him.

"'Sup, big bro?"

"Nothin' much. You?"

"Well, beside the fact that I've got a date, I'm good."

Sora and Kairi were in the front of the carriage, conversing amongst themselves.

"So, what are they teach kids these days?" Kairi asked, a lame attempt at conversing.

"Oh, you know, the usual. History and science and what-not."

"History? Like the kings and queens? Or farther back, during the times of the presidents?"

"The textbooks in elementary tell so little of our history before King Groden. It's sad," he paused, and began to drive the horses, "how children have no idea what happened in the past."

Kairi shook her head, her hair flying delicately around her shoulders. "That is sad. After President Obama, America's economic structure crumbled, and we rebuilt Daloria from scratch. We still needed government."

"I think we were happiest with a king. We got sick and tired of presidents, I guess." He chuckled. "When Groden came, everyone was confused, and maybe even scared. But he wasn't mean. At least not to the women."

She smiled. "It's been said that he had five wives. When he died, his seventh son took over. King Raniheld stopped the 'the many wives' predicament quickly. Though, it is said in the ancient books, that he kept a male slave in his quarters. Every night."

Sora's eyes widened as he glanced at her.

She nodded and laughed. "It's true."

Sora continued to stare at her. "Goddess."

"I know." she said, grinning. The carriage came to a slow halt.

Sora turned to Kairi. "Your house."

"Oh, um, wait here. I'll be back in a sec."

She jumped out and hurried down the stone walkway. Inside, she changed into jeans and a black sweater. Jeans were the newest thing. With a salary like hers, she was very happy to buy herself three pairs.

She grabbed her favorite purse and headed back out the door. "Sora!"

He smirked as she climbed back into the carriage. "Can't get enough of me, can you?"

She blushed. "Shut up," she muttered.

He grinned.

* * *

><p>As the carriage slowed in the small village of Rockrema, sister city of Remrain. As Aqua peered out the window, she curled up closer to Terra.<p>

"Remember this place, Terra?"

He smiled and nodded.

Xion leaned past him to see Aqua's face. "What's so special about the random countryside?"

Aqua glared at her. "It's my hometown. And it's where I first met Terra."

She grinned sheepishly. "I knew that."

"You were four," Terra chuckled. "You didn't know how to count to your own age."

When Xion stepped out of the carriage, she tensed. She admitted to herself that she was nervous. She did that before she left the castle. But why was she nervous over something as pointless as impressing Riku?

When Aqua stepped out, tugging her purse beside her, she tensed as well. Another spell weaver was here. And she didn't like that feeling. She grabbed Xion's shoulder.

"Xion," she said, pulling out two black gloves with steel covering the knuckles. "Put these on. I don't think the war's over just yet."

"What do you mean?"

Aqua slipped her two favorite guns, Tigrena and Dragonele, back into her purse. "Someone's gonna do something stupid."

Riku smiled as Xion got closer. She flexed her hands and sighed. "Hello, Riku," she said cheerfully.

"Hello, lovely. You look nice."

"Thanks. You look mighty handsome yourself." She smiled politely.

Behind Riku, Namine stepped forward.

Aqua closed her eyes, and began to count mentally.

'I can't kill that girl.' She thought. 'That's insane. And what reason do I have to—'

A brass bullet whizzed past her cheek, almost grazing it.

'Okay, now I can kill her.'

"Eat diamonds, bitch!" She whipped out her guns, and fired four diamond bullets at Namine's forehead. The girl disappeared, and reappeared behind Xion, holding a knife-made of ice crystals?-to her neck.

Xion elbowed her in the face, and then spun to kick her in the stomach. Riku snapped his fingers, and suddenly, hundreds of soldiers surrounded them.

Terra pressed a hand on both Xion and Aqua's shoulders. "Should we run?"

Aqua shook her head. Xion glared at him. Then she smiled. "This," she paused, "is child's play."

"Ready, Metal Fists?" Xion grinned. Aqua hasn't called her that since her first real fight.

"Hell yeah, Hurricane."

Both of them ran into the swarm of soldiers, Aqua firing crystal bullets, Xion punching random people in the face. Terra pulled out his favorite weapons: grenades.

Next to him, Kairi appeared with the two shiniest shotguns he had ever seen. Even Aqua's pistols weren't that shiny. She nodded to him and charged in. Sora pulled out his sword and tried to help her out. Terra happily continued to throw grenades. Soon, hundreds of soldiers became ten soldiers and ten became none.

Suddenly, Aqua took a step back.

"Aqua, what's wrong?" Aqua pointed towards Namine, and answered Xion's question.

Namine's pretty blue eyes had rolled to the back of her head and she had begun to rise into the air. Her body had begun to glow red, and even Riku looked scared.

But then he remembered the plan.

"Xion," he boomed, "You must agree to what I am going to propose."

Xion tightened her gloves' straps. If she was scared, no one could tell.

"You shall be forced to stay within my castle for six months. If you decline, Namine will kill you and your friends."

Xion froze. All the thoughts in her head had come to a halt. Now she was scared.

"I get to bring Aqua and Terra with me," she forced the words out of her lips.

Riku stared at her, and secretly admired her determination. He even smiled a little. "Alright. But that's it. I'll pick you up tomorrow afternoon."

Xion was shocked. "Well, that was remarkably easy..." she muttered.

Aqua raised her hand. "Hey, um, Riku?"

He turned to face her.

"What exactly is she doing?" Aqua pointed up towards Namine in curiosity.

"Calling the gods," he stated simply.

Aqua gaped. She can't do that. She can do something similar, but not _that_. Classes for that kind of magik don't come 'till spring. She was –the _tiniest bit_— jealous.

But then she realized why he said that so simply. He had absolutely no idea what she was going to do.

* * *

><p><strong>Heyyyyy! sorri this is late. skool just started and theyre already shoving work down my throat. yaaaay.<strong>

**anyway, im glad u guys like this. i lk it too. =D**

**lol. love ya-**

**Saphira**


	7. Chapter 7: See, NOW we're SCREWED

"Terra," Aqua brushed her bangs out of her face. "Listen, take Xion and the rest and hide behind that building over there. You'll want to see this."

"But I wanna help, Aqua!" Xion whined.

Aqua sighed. "Fine. Come here."

Xion skipped to her as the others hid behind the building.

"Okay, give me your hands. Remember that one time when Sora thought he was a god?"

Xion nodded.

"Well, now he's gonna think you are."

"But you're the one doing the magik."

"I know. But it will look like you're doing it."

"How?"

Aqua took Xion's hands in hers and slowly began to disappear. "By going into your subconscious and controlling you."

Xion's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she rose into the air. Inside her subconscious, Aqua bobbed her head to her favorite rock song, 'Love Is War' by Miku Hatsune. She snapped her fingers and Xion's dress got longer and lost its sleeves. Her jaw length hair flowed a little past her shoulders now, and a tattoo of an ice tiger wrapped up her left arm. The red streak in her hair turned blue.

Namine shot hand out at Riku and grinned.

"No fair, Little Water Dragon! I get a body, too!" Namine yelled.

Aqua shivered. No one but her mom called her that.

Namine seeped into Riku's body, the winds causing his flimsy, button-up shirt to come clean off, exposing his golden abs of glory.

Inside his mind, Riku practically wet his pants in fear. "What the hell did you do, Namine?"

"Nothing, really. I just took over your body."

"WHAT!"

"Calm down. Oh, and another thing, I think I'm pregnant." She turned around and quietly began to hum a tune while she traversed the folds of Riku's mind. She left before he had a chance to respond.

"-AT-AAAT-AAAT?" It echoed off the walls.

Namine laughed to herself, before running a hand lightly across her stomach worriedly.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Terra watched as his little sister continuously flung ice bombs at her future husband.

Aqua was right; this IS entertaining.

Sora tapped his shoulder.

"She overworked herself," he said, holding an unconscious Kairi bridal style.

"Take one of the horses, Sora, and take her back to the palace. The doctors can help her out."

Sora climbed onto the horse and rode off, in the direction of his house.

"Sora! You idiot! Get back here!" Terra yelled.

Xion was constantly, gracefully dodging waves of never-ending dark matter, and throwing glossy white spears back at Riku. Mentally, Xion was sitting cross-legged, eating ostrich-jerky while messing with her I-phone lazily.

"Hey, do you know when this'll be over?"

Aqua looked up from the magazine she was reading. "It'll be over soon. Besides, your body can't really last too long without deteriorating. Then again, neither can Riku. Which reminds me; do you like him or something? 'Cause you looked all nervous before we left."

"I don't like him." Xion answered firmly.

An awkward silence settled over the two, until Xion spoke up again. "Look."

Aqua stared out at the fight. She didn't miss the fact that the girl was lagging. Her attacks were weakening, even while Xion's body was on autopilot. Something was wrong.

Aqua began walking towards the front of Xion's brain. "Come here. I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it?" Xion scrambled up next to her.

"I need you to prepare yourself. We're gonna have to retreat."

"Why? What happened?"

"Your body can't take this much energy coursing through it. You're too young. And both she and I have, eh, issues."

"Namine's gonna have a baby? By who?"

"I don't know. I tried getting a mind sweep, but I'm using up too much energy here to do anything over there."

"Oh. Okay, what do you want me to do?"

"Relax and don't move."

Aqua began to traverse to the very back of Xion's mind. Strangely, the entire thing was covered in ebony marble. Her heels clicked against it as she ran. The exit was made of white marble and she quietly stepped out. Her body returned to its original form, and Xion's began to fall from the sky. Namine had disappeared by now, grabbing Riku, who was oddly conscious, and running off hastily.

Aqua whispered a spell, and Xion floated down like a feather. Terra came running forward as she bent down over Xion's body.

"Is she okay?"

"My hands, Terra," she whispered, staring painfully at the blood on her hands and the pool around Xion's head.

"What the hell did you do?"

She flinched at the rage spewing from him. She cringed and waited to feel the blow from his fists. Terra glanced at her as he picked Xion up and carried her to the horse.

"Get up," he said harshly, "We gotta get her to a hospital."

"Aren't you going to punish me?" Aqua's eyes widened a fraction as Terra climbed onto the horse.

"Do you want me to, Aqua?"

She realized, for once in her life, she hadn't gotten beaten for something she did wrong. She hadn't been in a relationship that didn't involve pain, with the exception of her brother, Nathan, and Terra. The depth of that hit her like a ton of bricks.

"No." Aqua said firmly, sitting behind him, and riding off to the closest hospital.

* * *

><p>hEYYYYYY! life's been good, but rough. sorri this one's late.<p>

! Love Ya-

Saphira


	8. Chapter 8: SORRIES!

Kairi awoke face down on a bed, in a large red sweater and sweat pants, a figure hovering over her. She tried to turn on her side, but failed terribly.

"Oh! Sora! She's awake!"

A young woman's voice, she thought. Does Sora already have a girlfriend?

Sora came into the room, groggy from a recent nap. "Belle thanks again for coming on such short notice."

"Anything for my little bro'!" she squeaked.

I suppose I stand corrected, Kairi thought, surprised.

Sora squat down next to her. "You alright, Kai?"

She realized she couldn't talk. He was literally breathing in her face. So, she nodded to keep herself from saying something stupid.

He smiled. "Wanna sit up and eat something?"

She nodded again.

He smiled wider as he helped her sit up. Belle stepped back a little. Their chemistry was gonna make her hurl. "Hey, Sora? Imma go search for food in your kitchen, 'kay?"

Sora nodded blindly.

* * *

><p>Namine cursed under her breath. Riku's blood was getting on her favorite dress. She lugged him across the grass and lifted him into the carriage. He didn't start bleeding until they left. And then he passed out a minute later. Damn side-effects.<p>

'I don't think my life can any worse,' she thought. 'I mean, I've got a bun in the oven, the gods won't leave me alone, and I got screwed by some guy I don't know! What the hell?'

One of the minor goddesses laughed hysterically.

"Shut up!" She yelled at the setting sun. "If only Roxas were here," she whispered.

'You found a boy and you didn't tell us?' Haravela and Lezarta tapped their feet impatiently.

"You know you could care less, Lezarta, so leave. As for Haravela, if you are so godly, why the hell didn't you just search the earth for him and strike him dead?"

Lezarta left dumbfounded, and Haravela stretched. 'Too lazy,' she replied.

"Rozen and Zoren are the more lethargic goddesses," Namine muttered, driving the horses to a nearby hospital. Rockrema Memorial Hospital almost glittered in the distance.

Namine pulled the horses to a halt, and dragged Riku out to the entrance.

"Need some help?" A cool, calm, masculine voice called from the top of the concrete stairs.

Namine knew this voice by heart. She loved the person this voice belonged to. "Roxas?"

The dirty-blonde sixteen year old back flipped off of the stairs and landed on his feet in the grass. "If it isn't the lovely Namine Delancey Kuchica..."

She dropped Riku where he was and ran to Roxas. He swept her in his arms, and planted a chaste kiss on her lips.

"We'll catch up later, but first we gotta get Big Bro inside first, right?" Roxas ran his fingers through his hair and grinned.

"Alright," they both grabbed Riku by his arms and legs, "on three. One, two, three!"

They heaved him up the stairs and into the hospital. The receptionist saw blood, called her nurses, and they pushed Riku away on a rolling stretch.

As Namine and Roxas sat in the waiting room, Namine froze. "Why are you two here?"

Aqua and Terra were sitting across the room, staring up at the others. "Side effects," Aqua said, putting her head in her hands.

"Damn, you too?"

She nodded tiredly.

Namine sat down and leaned against Roxas's medium build figure. He exhaled heavily. "Mind introducin' me, Nami?"

"Oh right! Roxas, these are my mortal enemies, Aqua and Terra. Terra and Blue Lizard Lady, this is my boyfriend, Roxas."

Terra quirked an eyebrow. "And how do you know my name?"

"I was at your execution."

Terra was speechless. 'So the little blonde haired girl in the middle row, being held up by her mother's arms, gaping in happy awe at the man about to chop my freakin' head off... That was Namine? What the—'

"Excuse me, Terra Dalorian?" A nurse poked her head into the waiting room.

Terra stood and Aqua looked up questioningly. "Is Xion okay?" she asked.

The nurse sighed. "Would you like to see her, ma'am?"

Aqua stood up next to Terra and nodded. "Let's go."

They walked down the hallway and Aqua whispered in Terra's ear, "Did you see looks on the nurses' faces when they escorted us to the waiting room?"

He grimaced. "Now isn't the time for that, Saphira."

She deflated, her grin coming clean off. "I was just trying to brighten the mood."

Outside the door, he stopped in his tracks. "My little sister is in the hospital for some shit you pulled out there on the battlefield, and you expect me to respond to you 'brightening the mood'?" he yelled.

"I was saving our lives!"

"You sure as hell did a damn good of a job!"

Aqua took a step forward. "You think I'm afraid of you, don't you, Terra? I tried my best! And apparently, that's not good enough for you!"

He raised his hand above his head. Aqua didn't even flinch. "Why the hell are you so difficult?"

"I am Eraqus Draggonet's daughter. Difficulty runs in my blood. I fear nothing now." she walked away, out of the hospital, and she didn't look back.

Terra ran his fingers through his hair and tried to calm down. He walked into Xion's room with a fake grin plastered on his face. "Hey, kiddo. How ya doin'?"

Xion grinned weakly. "I'm okay. Where's Aqua?"

"She left."

Xion frowned. "Why?"

"To pick up some fried chicken. She knows hospital food sucks."

Xion chuckled. "Where's Riku?"

Terra scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "He's in the next room over. You worried about him?"

"A little."

"You like him?"

She was quiet. She couldn't really deny it in front of her brother. He'd see right through it. She exhaled heavily. "Yeah..."

The look on his face was real; a genuine grin. He was happy Xion found somebody she liked. "Can I tell Aqua?"

"No," she pouted, folding her arms over her chest, the IV in her wrist jiggling.

"Why?" Terra whined.

"'Cause she'll rub it in my face."

"Alright, alright. Get some rest, kiddo. I'll see you in the morning." Terra kissed his little sister's forehead and backed out of the room. The second he was away, he began sprinting towards the entrance. He couldn't bear to lose her. Terra burst through the entrance and stopped short. She wasn't out there. He looked up at the sky for some answers, only to see her sitting on the roof instead. "Aqua!"

She ignored him.

"Aqua!"

She ignored him still.

"C'mon, Aqua! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"Sure you didn't, Terra. And I'm not on the roof right now." She said, pulling her hair up calmly. Her nerves weren't going to get the better of her. Not this time.

"Aqua! Please! Come down! I wanna talk!"

She sighed, jumped off the building, front-flipped, and stuck the landing next to Terra.

"I'd give that a ten," he said, chuckling.

She didn't laugh, so his died down awkwardly. "Listen," he said, rubbing his neck, "I'm sorry, Aqua. I really am. I'm just stressed, what with my sister in the hospital, and the baby, and Xehanort out to kill me again and all that... But—"

She pulled him close and kissed him. "It's about time." she said, smacking the back of his head.

He grinned. "We cool?"

"Nah dippity," she grinned back, smacking him again.

"Abusive!"

"Psshh. I'm hungry. Do you know where a KFC or a Popeye's is?"

"Down the street?"

"Yes! Okay, be right back!"

Terra smiled as Aqua straddled a black horse and rode off to the nearest place that sold fried chicken.

He went back inside the hospital and back into Xion's room. He stood in the doorway and watched her sleep for a couple of minutes, chuckling whenever she snored loudly.

As he stepped outside her room, a woman walked toward him, her off-white hair and pale skin clashing tremendously with her clad-black outfit. Terra stepped back in shock.

"Lady Rozen Garten," he got down on one knee and bowed his head, "Goddess of Time, how may I be of your assistance?"

"Stand, Terra Dalorian. I am here to warn you."

"What is it, mi'lady?" He asked, standing.

"I am afraid that you're borrowing time on the earth."

He folded his arms across his chest. "Excuse me?"

"Eventually, you will have to return to the spirits until we find a permanent alternative."

"When?" Terra's voice wavered. "And will I be able to see my baby be born?"

"I do not have all of the answers, Terra. I told you what I know. I will tell you anything else if I hear it. Have a good night."

Lady Rozen faded from existence.

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "How am I gonna tell Aqua?"

"How are you gonna tell me what?" Aqua came back with a huge bucket of Popeye's chicken, grinning and clutching the bucket close.

"It's nothing."

She brushed it off and continued munching on a leg. "Can we go see Riku?"

"Sure."

They walked into the room and Aqua almost dropped her fried chicken. Riku was attached to dozens of different wires, with an oxygen mask over his face. Next to him, Namine was grabbing his hand and sobbing while Roxas tried to console her. She looked up, blood-shot eyes filled with anger and more tears.

"You did this!" She yelled.

"What?"

"You gave me this baby," she yelled at Terra and ran her hands over her stomach, "And you're killing my brother slowly, just by living! What next, Terra? You gonna kill Roxas, too?"

Aqua put her bucket of chicken down in one of the seats near the door. "Terra, what is this about? Did... Did you get her pregnant? You're the father to her baby?"

Terra stood stock-still, in full-blown shock. "Who told you that?"

Namine pressed herself closer to Roxas as he spoke. "A goddess came into the room and told us everything."

"Which goddess?"

"Haravela."

Terra's heart cracked, but didn't shatter. It was holding itself together due to the fact that Aqua was still in the room. He turned to her and began to say something, but she stopped him.

"How long have you known but didn't tell me?"

"A month or so."

Aqua pressed a hand to her stomach, her face twisted in pain. When she regained her composure, she immediately left the room. Ignoring Terra's calls, she continued walking down the hallway to the door, passed the door, outside, where she made a phone call.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Aqua!"

"Hey, Nathan. I'm not feeling too great right now. Do you think you could come and get me, please?"

"Of course! Where are you?"

"Rockrema Memorial Hospital."

She heard the car start in the background. "What happened?"

"I'll explain when you get here."

* * *

><p>An hour later, Nathan's clunky blue Ford pulled up and Aqua got in. He pulled her into a hug and ruffled her hair.<p>

"Explain, Little Dragon."

Aqua told him everything from beginning to present. "I do not feel any emotions now."

"Or maybe you're feeling too many emotions at once," he countered softly.

Tears began to fall from her eyelashes. "Maybe that's it, Nathan," she whispered.

"Lemme take you home."

"Okay."

He pulled out from the hospital entrance quietly, and turned the radio up to quiet his own thoughts. He turned it down and called his wife, Audrey, to let her know where he was. He loved her to death, and he couldn't break his habit of randomly checking up on her.

Nathan handed his phone to his little sister. "She wants to talk to you."

Aqua gingerly put the phone to her ear. "Hey, Pancakes. How's it going?"

Audrey chuckled and smiled brightly, curling into a ball on the bed and turning her bedside lamp on. "I'm great, Aqua. How's my favorite sister-in-law?"

"I could be better, but for now I'm fine. You're keeping Nathan happy, enough to see a grin on his face! I'm happy he decided to keep you. You must be really great in bed."

Nathan nearly had a heart-attack. He pried the phone from Aqua's fingers, while driving, and abruptly ended the call. "Bad Aqua." he scolded.

Meanwhile, Aqua was giggling madly, giddy from Nathan's bright red face. When she calmed down to a quiet snicker, Nathan stopped the car. "Home."

"But what if..."

"I'm right outside if he tries anything."

She slowly got out the car and walked up the winding path to her house. Inside was dark, too dark, and Aqua heard sobs from her room. She opened the door to see Xehanort hovering over Adele, her knees close to her chest. Her face was tear-streaked, and when she saw Aqua in the doorway, she ran to her. Aqua bent down.

"Adele, what did he do to you?"

"He was gonna hurt me, Mommy. He took off his shirt and said for me to do it too. I didn't because you told me never to do that in front of boys. And then he hit me, Mommy. Daddy hit me." Adele showed Aqua the bruises all over her body, and Aqua had to force back tears.

"Baby, do Mommy a favor and go in your room and pack up all your toys and clothes and when you're done, take your suitcases down stairs and you'll see Uncle Nathan's truck. Put your stuff in there, okay? Can you do that for Mommy?"

The ten-year-old nodded and ran out of the door. Aqua straightened up and stared at Xehanort.

"Today, I will kill you."

* * *

><p><strong>Heyyyy! Long time no talk! How are you guys doing? Do you guys still like this? Okay, um, I working on a story about a murder case and all that, and I was wondering if u guys wanted me to post it here? Idk if it'll be a one shot or something. Review and give Saphy FEEDBACK! I live off of that and sugar! <strong>

**Thanks ppl who have stuck with this! I trust u'll review this with some ideas? And tell your friends! I'll give you a cookie if u does! HELL, I'LL GIVE YOU FIVE! XD**

**Did anyone see the super huge "HAVEN" reference? ANYBODY?**

**(I WUV NATEN! :3)**

**Love you! -**

**Saphira!**


	9. Chapter 9: WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU PPL!

As she slept, Sora kept a constant watch on Kairi. She had eaten and had begun to recover well. He brushed his knuckles against her face longingly. She whispered something in her sleep, and tears ran down her face. A loud bang on the door woke her up in a cold sweat. Sora kissed her forehead to calm her down and walked to the door.

"Hello?"

Two men, one with a young face and gray-silver hair, with two silver eyes to match, and the other with a crazed grin, his fiery red bangs covering his one green eye. The other one was rolled over to the back of his head.

"The name's Axel and my partner here is Zexion. Do you know a young lady by the name of Kairi? She's our friend and we really need to see her." The red head said, smiling.

"Yeah! She's right in here!" Sora said happily, gesturing to the fragile woman on his couch.

Zexion stepped inside first, shaking his head, and mentally face-palming at how gullible people are now-a-days. He bent down and brushed Kairi's face.

"Go away, Sora," she mumbled.

"It's not Sora."

Kairi's violet eyes met a sea of silver, and her eyes widened in shock. She glanced at Axel, who was holding a knife to Sora's neck. Zexion quietly kissed her hand. "You're coming with us."

"Why?"

Zexion pulled the blanket off of her. He rolled up her pants, and on her right leg, a scar that looked like a snake wrapped around it, starting from her ankle and slithering all the way up to her mid-thigh. Closer observation would reveal it was a king cobra, bearing his fangs at his victim.

"Do you remember how you got that?" Axel asked, grinning insanely.

* * *

><p>Terra rubbed his face with his hands. "Why don't you just kill me now," he muttered, staring at the ceiling.<p>

Suddenly, Riku began convulsing. Sputtering blood, the crimson liquid dribbling down his pale lips seemed to mix with his salty tears and incoherent gurgling. The doctors rushed everyone out of the room, and Terra saw the same thing happening to Xion. She was literally choking on her own blood. It pained him to watch her struggle and angered him to agree to helplessness.

"Doctor-lady! Is there any way I can help my sister?"

She didn't seem to hear him; she was too busy trying to help her patients. She pushed the two teens into a large room, and she disappeared from his sight.

"Crud."

Roxas held Namine in his arms to try and stop her bawling. He cradled her and spoke softly in her ear.

"Wanna go home, so you can sleep?"

She nodded, sniffling.

He led her out the door, climbed one of Terra's horses and rode off.

Terra plopped into one of the nearby chairs and dozed off. He dreamt he was falling into a pit of darkness, it swallowing him whole. Then everything stopped.

He was within a hospital, apparently the same one, holding a baby girl in his arms. She yawned, her tannish, pinkish face scrunching up. A few minutes later, a nurse handed him another child, a little boy, and asked for a name. Then everything disappeared. He was now in the woods, crouching in a tree, a teenage Aqua frowning. He heard footsteps, and shrunk farther into the shadowy branches. This scene seemed familiar, a vague memory. It fell away from him again, and Terra woke up in a cold sweat, his heart thundering in his chest and echoing in his ears.

* * *

><p>Namine shook her head. "You can't come past castle doors, Roxas. It's Father's rules."<p>

"I don't care for his rules, Nami. I'm here to protect you. And I can't do that from out here, can I?"

"Shuddup. Still can't come in."

"Then I guess I'll wait out here."

She reached up and ruffled his hair, sighing. "Stop making that face."

"What face?" He smirked.

"That face! That face you make when you don't get what you want."

"Still don't know what you're talking about."

Namine pouted, and turned around to walk inside. She grinned, yelling behind her as she walked in, "Stop staring at my butt, Roxas!"

"Nah, I like it too much."

"Shuddup." And the door shut.

* * *

><p>Suddenly, about five hours later, an ear-piercing scream, coming from inside the castle, made Roxas jump. He ran inside, trying to see what was going on. His thoughts were flickering like a candle's flame, his mind in overdrive.<p>

"Namine!"

The muffled scream of his name sent him clambering up the marble stairs, tripping his way to the top. His blood went cold as he heard a man's voice.

"It's not gonna hurt, sweetie. It'll only take a second."

As he got closer to one of the doors, he could hear Namine crying. He kicked the door down.

A man with silvery eyes and gray-silver hair was holding Namine close to his chest on the floor, his hands dripping with some sort of liquid and what looked like blood. Roxas pulled Namine away from him, and watched as the man stood up, grasping a needle.

"It seems he won't let me use this, huh, Nami?" The man said, sweeping his silvery bangs out of his face.

"Stay away from her." Roxas growled dangerously.

"The name is Zexion, dear Roxas. Little Namine knows me, don't you, Nami?"

"Stop calling me that!" She yelled, stepping away from her protector.

"Now you've made your mistake." Within seconds, Zexion came behind Namine, hitting her pressure point, and grabbing her and literally flying out the window. He had grown blackish-blue wings and taken off, leaving Roxas to stand there like an idiot, gaping at the broken glass.

* * *

><p>"How is she?" Axel wiped his hands on the back of his jeans, walking into the room his favorite people were.<p>

"I gave them both the same dose, so they should be out for a while. How are you, Axel?" The young woman placed the sedatives back into her fridge and smiled at her old friend.

"Well enough, Larxene."

"Still looking for that girl? The one that did that to your eye?"

"Do you even have to ask, Xenie?" He said, smiling sadly. He scratched his red hair, and then reached to tug her blonde ponytail. "I love you, you know that?"

"Yup!" She grinned. "Love you, too, Axel!"

He leaned to kiss her, and her bluish yellow eyes closed and followed suit. Zexion came into the room.

"Ahem! Axel, Larxene!" He barked.

Larxene jumped. "Jeez, Zexy!"

"Don't call me that."

"Why? I think it suits you. Right, Axel?"

Axel nodded, while trying to hold back his laughter.

Zexion sent them both a death glare. "Shut up, you worthless woman."

"Watch it, Zexion. You and I both know she is necessary to this operation." Axel snapped.

"You and I both know I have the power to wipe the both of you out whenever I please." He retaliated harshly.

Axel continued to glare at him, Larxene whispering to him that she'll talk to him later. She quickly, quietly shuffled out of the room as the tension rose.

"What is it? Why do you not like her?"

"It is because I only care about the mission."

"Bullshit." Axel's eye color got darker as Zexion stepped closer, trying to see what he'd do.

Axel clenched his fists, and raised one up to strike Zexion.

Zexion just continued to stare deeply into the pool of dark, menacing green. Cold hands clasped around his neck, the burning sensation of lack of oxygen in his lungs. The burning continued, and Zexion realized Axel was conjuring Firen in his hands.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air. Zexion had continued to stare into Axel's eye, not even cringing in pain. Axel squeezed harder.

"Why won't you die!" He yelled, his eye watering from the smoke. His hands were covered in fiery blood, already burning past Zexion's jugular.

"I am immortal," he croaked.

Axel froze, recovered, and changed from fire to electricity. Zexion began spazzing, jerking and flailing, but still stared into his partner's eye, lifeless oceans of silver clashing with an enraged pool of dark green. He almost looked dead, save for the fact that he kept blinking. Axel threw him against the wall and stared at the floor.

"...I'm still—" Zexion put his hands to his neck, and realized he felt bone. His bone and burnt flesh; the remains of his throat in his palms. When he talked, nothing was there to vibrate. So how did he create noise? Was it the gods?

Annoyed, Axel stormed out, muttering something about getting a beer.

* * *

><p>Aqua stared at her hands. She shall watch him suffer underneath her death grip. This meant no weapons. She swore to it.<p>

Lunging at Xehanort, Aqua broke into her fastest sprint to tackle him to the floor. He grabbed her neck once they went down. Choking, she quickly wrapped a leg around his arm, bending it just so, causing her to enjoy the sickening snap it produced. She quickly back flipped away from him as he got up and lumbered toward him. Aqua grunted as her threw her against the wall.

"C'mon, Xehanort," she taunted, getting up from her crouching position, "That your best?"

She failed to realize him sliding over the bed and reaching into the drawer.

"Not at all, dearest," He snapped, while pulling out a shot gun twice his arm-length. The impossibly large weapon glinted, as if it were saying to her, _'Run. Now.'_

He pulled the trigger, and she dodged it, running out of the room. She needed more space. It would give her an advantage.

She ran up the stairs to her attic, and realized he didn't follow her.

"Adele!" She ran back down franticly, to see Xehanort pointing the gun at the little girl's head.

"If you move, she dies."

Adele began sobbing.

"Xehanort," Aqua dropped to her knees, "Please, Xehanort. Don't do this. She's your daughter. Our daughter! Wouldn't you have even a fragment of a heart not to kill her?"

"Guess not," he said, loading the gun.

Aqua's distressed tears were followed by anger. She wouldn't be able to save her baby girl if she tried. Standing back up, she made her decision without any second thought.

"Xehanort."

His head snapped up to stare into her forest green eyes, brimming with tears and determination.

"Let her go, and keep me."

"Or maybe I let her go, and kill you."

"I can take any punishment you give." She couldn't look at Adele; she'd start crying.

He smiled maliciously. "This," he aimed at her shoulder and pulled the trigger, "is for breaking my arm."

Her knees hit the floor.

"This one," he pulled the trigger at her leg, "is for having an affair behind my back. And this bullet for planning to bear his children," he shot at her womb, and by then she was crumpled on the floor, clutching her stomach.

Adele watched in abject horror.

"This last bullet is to put you out of your misery."

The bang that erupted startled the birds outside the cottage. Especially Aqua's favorite, a new breed, the Sapphire-Winged Songbird. The little birds congregated in a tree farther away from the house, and they began to sing loud, high-pitched, sad notes. The sound was crisp and clear, and it echoed through the trees, matching the sweetest notes on new violin.

* * *

><p>AAAAAAAND! that's it. for nowww...! love you guys! and review for da saphy! and tiredgirl! where'd you go! why arent all my old peoples reviewin! yall gave up on me?<p>

how dare you! jk. love yall!

-Saphira!


	10. Chapter 10:Help, I'm Alive by Metric

Terra's head made a thud as it hit the wall repeatedly. Only he was left, awaiting the news of his sister's fate. The doctor, a young female by the name of Aerith Fair, was treating her. Terra had talked to her a couple days after Aqua told him the great news.

Aqua.

"Why am I so stupid," he muttered to himself.

"Not your fault, Henry. You were forced, weren't you?" Dr. Fair asked.

"Not quite. She brought me back."

"Back where?"

"Here. The world of the living. Namine... She forced me to sleep with her to repay her, since I had no real possessions, ya know?"

"Right. Well, Alyson's in a stable position. The negative side..." she trailed off.

"Spit it out," he snapped at her.

She flinched. "She's hit a comatose state. She'll probably be there for a while, say, one to three months."

Henry glared at the wall.

"I'm sorry, Terra."

"Whatever. Can I see her?"

"Of course."

Fair led him into the winding hallways of the huge hospital, to room 616.

"In here," she said quietly, turning the silver handle.

Inside, Alyson Dalorian was hooked up to thousands of different tubes and wires. The red tubes were blood, Terra knew that, but what were the blue tubes, the ones that were connected to the veins in her neck? What were they pumping into his sister's body? It didn't look like a liquid...

"What's that blue stuff going into her neck?"

Wow, he thought, that sounded really unintelligent...

"While we were doing tests we found large amounts of magik in her blood, bones, and frontal lobe. To our radiologists' surprise, they believe she has the energy of the Legendary White Ice Tigren coursing through her."

He knew this legend by heart. Father used to tell it to them before he-

"Where is the body? If you know the legend-"

"I'm not an idiot; 'Where her energy lies, behold the human form, as it unknowingly waits for its demon's arrival.'. It's the part about the demon's energy lying in wait."

Terra frowned. "I know that," he glared, "I'm asking if what happened to the human in the legend will happen to her."

"And I'm supposed to know?"

"Well... I assumed." He scratched his head awkwardly.

"And you assumed this because?"

"'Never mind."

"What is it, Terra," she laid a hand on his shoulder.

He flinched. Nope, she is NOT an Ancient.

* * *

><p>"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakie!" Axel shook Kairi and Namine as gently as he could. His mother never thought he was gentle.<p>

"Oh, dear Goddess! What the hell?" Namine snapped.

"Where's Sora?" Kairi looked ready to cry.

Larxene slipped back into her lab, happier than average.

"What's up with you, sweetheart?" Axel ran to swing her in his arms.

She squealed, grinning almost drunkenly. "That little Dalorian girl's in a coma."

"Great! What else?"

"That girl, the one that did that to your eye, I know where she lives."

This news made Axel stop spinning. "Really? Where?"

"6518 Riverside Street. The last cottage on the right, near the castle."

He put her down and grabbed his coat. "Be right back," he whispered to her, pecking her cheek.

* * *

><p>A teary-eyed Adele slid uncomfortably into her uncle's torn leather seats. Nathan took her into his lap.<p>

"What happened, Addy?"

Worried blue met watery hazel, and in seconds, she was bawling into his chest.

"Daddy... Daddy shot Mommy! Daddy's evil! He's bad and mean and he beated me and Mommy," she sat up and started shoving him out of his car, "Go! Go help Mommy! I'll call Auntie Panacakes and tell her to come pick me up! Gooo!"

Nathan flew out his car and tripped into his sister's house, his gun poised at his side. He went upstairs...and froze.

His little sister was splayed out on the wooden floor, her face twisted in pain, her lifeless eyes permanently widened in a mix of shock, anger, and sadness. He didn't see the dirty bastard that killed her. When he got his hands on Balthier, he swore he would cause so much pain...

He dropped to his knees and crawled to her, flinging himself over her cold body and sobbing.

He didn't hear the sound of sneakers pounding against the wooden stairs.

"Oh my Goddess, Nathan... What happened?"

"He finally got what he wanted, didn't he, Audrey?"

The blonde's expression went from worried to sorrowful. "Nathan," she knelt next to him, "We're too late?"

Her tears soaked into his dress shirt, and he kissed her forehead.

"We're too late, Audrey."

After a while, Audrey spoke up and sniffled, "We should go. Should we drop her off at the hospital?"

"Why?"

"Morgue," she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Dried tears streaking her cheeks, tinted pink, her ever-present sniffling made him smile sadly. She never really understood the effect she had on him.

She noticed him smiling. Disturbed, she asked, "What?"

"You're so cute."

She pouted. "Shut up. Okay, how're we gonna move her?"

"Not hard," he said, slinging the cold cadaver over his shoulder.

"C'mon," she walked down the stairs and out the door.

She stopped short and frowned, the grimace delicately gracing her features.

"Nathan?"

He grunted in reply.

"You didn't walk here, did you?

"Of course not..." Nathan was puzzled.

"Then where the hell's your car?"

"Shit," Nathan laid his sister's body in the soft grass and ran to where he supposedly parked his car.

"Audrey, where's Adele?"


	11. Chapter 11: Snow White's Playlist

Panicked, Nathan turned back to Audrey. "We'll drop her off at the hospital and come back, alright?"

She nodded, climbing into her little red Ford and flooring it to the hospital. Pulling in, she slammed the brakes for an oncoming car. "Crap!"

The vehicle jerked forward a bit too much, and underneath them a crack in the earth appeared spontaneously. The car Audrey almost hit was swallowed whole. Audrey clutched Nathan's hand as the car lurched forward at the edge of the crack.

"I love you, Nathan." she was tearing up.

"I love you, too, Audrey," he kissed her softly as the car tumbled into oblivion.

* * *

><p>Axel drove faster on the highway than he should have, the little girl in the back of his car trembling in fear. Adele hugged her pink zebra-striped pillow and her over-stuffed purple cow for comfort as fat, salty tears rolled down her cheeks. "Mommy... Uncle Nathan... Auntie Panacakes... Goddess... Help..."<p>

The dawn of the new morning glowed, sending warm sunlight all over her, and for some reason, giving her an escape plan. When she was eight, Auntie told her that her mommy was special. Magical. A spell-waver-thingy. And she said that Mommy put a special device thing inside her purple cow, Jean.

Adele laid her pillow on her lap, sort of like a dissection table. She placed her cow facing up on it. Then she prayed to her favorite goddesses, Rozen Garten, Zoren, and Stellira Noctair.

Axel swerved, and Adele swayed, still in her reserved state. She opened her eyes and smiled for the first time in a long time. Opening Jean and digging around in her fluffy cotton, Adele found a red shiny rock thingy. Auntie told her hold that stone close to her heart with one hand and everything you wanted to take with you in the other. The little girl placed her bags (they weren't very big) in her lap, and she wrapped one arm around them. She whispered where she wanted to go and disappeared.

* * *

><p>Terra walked down the side of highway R-13, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. Hot, angry tears were streaming down his face. He was alone, physically and mentally. He wasn't a man that cried for silly reasons, he decided, and he abruptly stopped his tears, totally oblivious to the car speeding in the opposite direction.<p>

He stood still, and Terra mentally began to create a plan. He would go to Aqua's house and wait until she came home. If she was already there, he'd apologize and take her to dinner and explain everything. Determined, he began running down the highway, confident steps in tow.

* * *

><p>Kairi sat in a corner, facing the wall, and she turned up "Help, I'm Alive" by Metric to drown out Namine's foul mouthed yelling.<p>

Namine was strapped to a silvery dissection table, glaring up at the blonde woman holding a needle. Larxene stared down, intimidating her harshly until Zexion walked into the room.

"Get me off this goddamn table! What're ya gonna do! Inject me to death?"

Zexion laughed and back-handed her swiftly. "Quiet, witch."

"Make me," she growled, and he back-handed her again. Her bloody saliva hit the floor near his foot.

"Now," Zexion bent down over her and whispered into her ears, "Tell me how to get in touch with Mother."

"Never," she spat in his face, curling her fists against the cold steel tabletop.

He straightened up, wiping his face with his sleeve. "You've asked for it, Namine."

Zexion stepped over to a machine, the one that sends electrical discharge to through the patient's system to kick-start the brain. He turned it on and rubbed the two metal plates together, hovering over the girl. Zexion pressed the plates into her chest forcefully. Namine writhed and wriggled and jerked continuously, until he let her go. She gasped for air, blood dribbling down her red lips, gurgling on the blood closing her airway. She spit blood up at him and whispered, "Do what you will, you sick bastard."

"How sweet," he said, slapping her again, "Let's try this again. Call upon the gods. Now."

"I can't. They come to me. Not the other way around. If you let me go..."

"In your naive dreams, little witch."

* * *

><p>Vanille flitted around the castle, as light as the sunlight streaming through the silk curtains. She stopped short in the dining room, entranced by the gold and silver lily centerpiece on the table. She came closer, holding it in her hand, turning the little flower over and over in her little pale fingers. The petals themselves were shimmering gold, accented by cold flecks of sliver. She pocketed the small treasure, and she continued about her work nonchalantly. But Vanille stopped again, realizing a bit of crucial information. The eight o'clock news had blared for the living room television, and for the first time that day, Vanille realized she was totally alone. She went inside and sat on the squishy couch, listening to Robert Bishop, a blonde haired, blue eyed newscaster, report something about a kidnapping somewhere. She was about to turn it off, when something caught her attention.<p>

"In recent reports," Robert began, "the Princess of Daloria, heir to the queen's throne, and Prince Riku, heir to Encante's kingdom, are both stationed in the Intensive Care Unit at Rockrema Memorial Hospital. Both are under severe comatose states until further notice."

Vanille gasped, and she bounded out the room and down the stairs, practically flying out of the castle's walls. She ran to the horse stables and clicked her tongue, calling her master's horse, Creampuff. She didn't even saddle him; she just got on and began riding through the courtyard. The thundering of the hooves went from tiles to dirt road in minutes. Vanille's brunette bangs blew in her face, but she was very happy she had cut her hair pixie short beforehand. She reached one hand inside her pocket and fingered the small flower.

Passing the marketplace already, Vanille kept galloping through. She needed to see Riku. The time had come. She remembered him saying when she was ready to know everything, that she should come to him. She just hoped he'd wake up in time to see her. She prayed, even, but to no god or goddess in particular. She had to know why he had asked for her hand, and why she couldn't remember anything after that. Nothing but pitch black darkness and muted memories.

* * *

><p>HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!<p> 


	12. Chapter 12:TOBY

Riku sat up wearily, craning his neck to get a good look at his reflection in the glass of water across the room. He frowned; he couldn't see. And he slowly began to realize he was in a freakishly detailed dream. That scared the hell out of him. He decided he probably couldn't die in the dream world, so he tested it by literally ripping his IVs of his veins. Then he jumped out of bed, spinning around in circles and practically watching his blood splatter all over in his off-white room. He grinned. He hated hospitals anyway. Riku suddenly had an amazing idea. Maybe Xion was here! He tore down the hallway, barely noticing how extremely empty it was. He burst into every room on his floor.

She mightn't be here yet, he thought, distressed. He sat in the middle of the hallway, running his fingers through his hair and sighing deeply.

"Riku?"

He looked up, his confusion etching his face. "Mom?"

"Is it really you," she asked stepping forward toward her frightened son.

"Why are you here," he asked, coldly.

"Son, aren't you going to give your mummy a warm hug?" the woman, his "mummy", tilted her head in a crazed fashion, like he does in front of Xion.

Riku felt goose bumps prickle up his arms. His eye twitched as the woman pulled out a steel-infused switchblade eagerly. He didn't give her a chance; he took off for his life.

* * *

><p>Terra glared at the walls of Aqua's home. He tried calling her, Nathan, and even Nate's wife. No seemed to pick up.<p>

"Mr. Terra?"

A small, timid voice tickled his ears. He turned around to see Aqua's little girl, Adele. He smiled. Maybe she knows where her mother is.

"Hello, Addy," he said, smiling, but the grim look on the ten-year-old's face made him stop. "What happened?"

"Mommy, Uncle Nathan, and Auntie Panacakes are all dead."

His eyes widened. When any Draggonet descendant holds a grim facial expression, you can tell they're not messing around. Apparently, Adele got those genes. "Explain," he whispered, barely grasping her words.

She held up a small red stone. "I teleported to Uncle's body. They're at the bottom of a chasm. In front of a hospital."

Terra sighed sorrowfully. "And Aqua?"

"Killed by my father. Witnessed by yours truly," she stated, a remnant of a tear trickling down her cheek. She scrubbed it away hurriedly. "I've cried too long. Right now you have to help me."

"What do you want me to do?"

"First, make me a sandwich. We'll talk over breakfast."

Terra raised an eyebrow. "Alright. Where's the kitchen?"

* * *

><p>Roxas dialed the number again.<p>

"Dammit! Pick up, will you!"

The ringing seemed to irritate him more than it should. He frustratedly chucked a couple pebbles at the pigeons in the parking lot of McDonald's. The busy tone dial beeped again, and Roxas stared at his own personal piece of worthless junk. His god-forsaken cell phone. He chucked it at the birds that almost seemed to be mocking him.

It seemed too sturdy to even take a scratch. He glared at it. He has tried calling Nami thousands of times and even tried to call her father. Distress flooded him.

"Damn," Roxas muttered as he quietly walked into the restaurant and up to the cashier.

"Hello! What would you like?" the perky woman behind the cash register asked.

He blinked. "Hey, do I...know you from somewhere?"

"What do you mean?"

Roxas shook his head. "Nevermi-"

Suddenly, everything went black...

* * *

><p>Xion sat up, gasping. She whipped her head around to try and survey her surroundings. If she had any...<p>

Total darkness surrounded her from all sides. She stood up, warily waiting for any signs of life. "Where the hell...am I?"

Her voice echoed. The temperature in that strange wasteland dropped considerably low. And if it was possible, it seemed to get even darker. Was she dreaming?

A bright spiraling ball of white light came barreling at her. She barely dodged it, and she felt a bit of blood drip down from where it nicked her. She reached for a weapon, and out of nowhere, a silver pistol formed in her hands. Xion has no magical abilities besides the basics. How did she manage to make the gun appear?

She pushed her thoughts aside as she began shooting at the hundreds of strange balls of light. They had multiplied immensely over such a short period.

Reloading, Xion tried to think of some sort of escape plan. Her mind was blank.

_'What are these things?'_

"W-w-we are Light Thieves. W-w-we do what our name implies."

Xion fired at the light blob that just talked. She continued firing as they continued reanimating. Reloading a tenth time, she began feeling weakened and tired. Usually she could do fifty rounds, easy. She couldn't understand why she was so sleepy. She yawned unintentionally. Her vision got blurry soon after. She stumbled and fell while still shooting the blurry white masses. Her body began to ache and she started trembling on the cold floor.

They surrounded her. She curled herself into a fetal position, knowing this wouldn't protect her enough. Tears started streaming down her face as they got closer and closer and closer.

She couldn't see. She couldn't feel. She couldn't hear or smell. Her senses were gone. She couldn't even remember her own name anymore. These "Light Thieves" or whatever the hell they were, they were erasing her memories.

They were erasing her mind completely.

Xion's body went limp.

* * *

><p>Namine's pale skin helped her look the part of a corpse in the corner of the room. She was alive; you could barely see her breathing shallowly.<p>

_My baby_, she thought, _is probably dead from all those freaking chemicals they injected in my bloodstream. Kill me now, great goddesses._

Kairi stared at the wall, tears leaving streaks on the table. She had been stripped to her undergarments alone, and she was cold. Zexion was standing over her, the look on his face, that hungry, insane facial expression scared the hell out of her.

"What to do with you?" he whispered.

Axel burst through the doors angrily, making Larxene jump.

"She's dead! Why the hell did you send me to that empty house in the first place, Larxene?"

"How was I supposed to know? It's not like I live with her!"

"And you," he turned to Zexion, pointing an accusing finger, "Kairi and Namine did nothing wrong! So what if we cursed Kai! The gods will ruin her life for us. And who gives a shit if you and Namine share the same mom, who, mind you, is a goddess, giving you and Nami insanely abnormal abilities. Whoop-dee-freakin-do!"

Zexion walked up to Axel, punching him in the face. Larxene ran to try and break them up. Namine wearily picked herself up, unstrapping Kairi and handing her what was left of an old lab coat. She grabbed the other girl by her waist, silently mouthing a spell. And they were gone.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hellllllo! what up, ppl! talk to me! sorri this was late! !<strong>_


	13. Chapter 13:SORI

She was in a meadow. Warm rays of light rained down on her, making her calm. She stood up, glancing to see if anybody else was around.

Where am I?

"Aqua..." a voice said.

"God," she questioned, frightened by the sudden noise.

"No," a white being came from air, arms spread warmly. "I am a mere messenger of Him."

"He exists," she stated breathlessly.

"Absolutely, and He has ask for me to bring you to Him."

Aqua jumped and frantically stared at the angelic being. She chuckled, and it sounded like a thousand little bells tinkling, "Do not fret, innocent one. He does not care for one's appearance."

But Aqua glanced down anyway, for self-approval. "I'm naked," she stated simply, "Why?"

"No clothes to enter the Kingdom's Gates. Not until later."

Aqua nodded. The being sprouted wings and held her hand as they ascended up into the clouds. She was so nervous, she began trembling.

"Relax, young one," the angel whispered as they flew past the clouds, to where heaven was.

"Aqua Hinata Draggonet, daughter of Edward Canaan Draggonet," the deity boomed, "Stand before the trial of The Holy One."

Her knees began knocking. "Y-yes, sir?"

"Do you love Terra with all your heart?"

She nodded her head vigorously.

"As for Xehanort?"

At this she frowned harshly and shook her head. "Never have from day one."

"And your children?"

She opened her mouth but closed it again. "Excuse me... I only have one child..."

All too suddenly, Aqua was falling. From the sky. But a shrill voice in her head cackled. "Missed me, little witchling?"

She cringed, "Haravela?"

"SURPRISE! I'm here because I'm going to make an offer."

"Offer...?"

"Mmhm! If I bring you and your family back, you have to give your eldest child to me."

Aqua shook her head, partly to get the flying hair out of her mouth and to disagree. "Never, you she-devil."

"Oh, is that how to treat your auntie?" The goddess pouted, waggling her finger in a strangely grotesque way.

"I've always despised my father's side family." Aqua said lightly.

Before the head goddess could say anymore, the angel that was with Aqua before appeared again.

"I'm not supposed to do this," she said, shaking her head, "but I'm giving you your wings now. You'll need them. I'm Aerith. Now I need you to flex your shoulders for me."

Aqua was going to nod, but she impacted the ground with an earth-shattering crash.

* * *

><p>Terra waited outside the little ladies' room in Wal-mart, staring inside the big plastic bag with strange awe. The little girl insisted they buy new clothes so they could look cool while saving her mother. He protested while Adele had picked out clothing from the racks, half listening, turning around every now and again to see which color complimented his skin better.<p>

And now she was in the bathroom, changing into the adorable purple sweatpants, white tank top, black jacket, and sneakers she made him buy.

"Terra! How do I look?"

"Adorable. Can we leave now?"

Adele pouted and shook her head, "Change. Now."

She gave him the death glare as he trudged into the family bathroom. She followed him.

"Close your eyes," he muttered.

Adele quickly covered her eyes with her hands and turned around as Terra pulled off his shirt. Pulling the black t-shirt over his head, he asked, "What's your plan, Adele?"

"You don't have to call me Adele. You can call me Addy if you want," she said, quietly, twirling a strand of her sandy blond hair around her finger.

'She got her mother's shyness,' he thought, smiling to himself as he finished fastening his jeans.

"Addy, what's our plan? How are we gonna save Aqua?"

Terra tapped her shoulder, and she whipped around. "Hmm... I did a good job! You look good, Mr. Terra!"

He had to admit, the forest green jacket, jeans, and the black shirt did make him look nice. He straightened his jacket and ran his fingers through his hair, flashing a smile at his little partner in justice. She giggled at him, and it reminded him of Aqua's laugh, the sound of a bubbling brook. Terra zoned out, thinking of her and how much he missed her, but a soft, little hand grasped his own, and he was suddenly in the last place he wanted be at that second: before Aqua's bloody body. He collapsed before her and began to sob as the waves of grief engulfed him.

And then he did something he would rarely ever do.

He went ballistic.

* * *

><p>Roxas blinked against the harsh sunlight. In a pile of debris, he contiunously slipped in and out of consciousness, grasping at something, trying to pull himself up to the surface. Medics came and told him to lie down, but he fought. He struck one of them in the mouth and he stumbled back, holding his jaw.<p>

At this, Roxas seemed satisfied by the blood dribbling down the corner of the medic's mouth, and he relaxed. They carried him off until everything went black. When he woke up, his best friend was next to him, hooked up to a bunch of wires.

"Damn, Riku. What did Nami ya, man?"

* * *

><p>Zexion growled under his breath angrily, "Find them."<p>

When neither Larxene or Axel responded, he yelled, "FIND THEM!"

Larxene grasped Axel's hand quickly, leading him out of the room and into her car.

"We gonna find 'em or not, Xene?"

Her frown made him think something was wrong. "No," she muttered, starting the car. The mechanical beast coughed, but didn't budge.

"Dammit! Axel, we need to get out of here, now!"

Axel grabbed her wrists, staring at her with worry in his eyes. "Larxene! What's wrong?"

She shook her head continuously, "I know where they are. I can feel them. But she won't let me tell you," she began to sob, "She won't let me tell you! She won't let me-"

"What are you talking about, Xenie?"

Her eyes went hollow, a cynical grin crossed her face. Larxene's pale face got even more pale in seconds.

"Hello, Axel. It's Namine! Likin' the new trick?"

* * *

><p><strong>hey, guys. i'm sooooo freakin sorri! i have this really anoying place i hv to go to every day, its called skool. pain in the ass. anyway, thanks for waiting forevr, LOVE YA!<strong>

**Saphira**


	14. Chapter 14: wHO AM i?

Kairi awoke in a clearing surrounded by trees.

"Good mornin', gorgeous! How'd you sleep?"

Namine happily bounded over to her, carrying a makeshift tray with food on it. Four slabs of meat and two sunny-side-up eggs on a piece of wood. She stared at it awkwardly.

"What kind of meat is that?"

"Bear. Eat up. We're gonna start movin' when you're finished."

"Right."

Kairi ate slowly, staring after Namine. She swallowed, "Are you mad at me for trying kill you?"

"What?"

"The box of chocolates."

Namine paced as she stuffed more meat into her mouth. She swallowed again, her eyes following her companion's movements.

"No, not really. I didn't eat it 'cause I hate chocolate."

"That's a lie."

"No! I just don't like it." Namine frowned.

"Riku said otherwise."

Her frown deepened, her eyes becoming red slits. "You know this how?"

"He told me," Kairi got up and threw the wooden tray into the trees. "Are we going or not?"

The bored look on her face made Namine realized that they shouldn't waste time. "Yeah."

They began walking east, towards the ocean. "Why are we going this way?"

"I have to meet up with someone."

"Who," Kairi asked anyway, even though she knew she wasn't going to get a straight answer.

"No one you know."

* * *

><p>Riku banged on the doors of the hospital. It wouldn't let him through! And his mom-slash-certified-crazy-bitch was on his tail.<p>

He spun on his heels, breathing heavily.

"Riku?" she called down the hallway eerily.

"Dammit!" He grabbed the nearest thing around him and chucked it at her. That object happened to be the stapler from the receptionist's empty desk.

His mother actually caught it and threw it back with even more force. Riku ducked, and he threw the receptionist's chair at her, praying she couldn't catch it.

The chair hit her head and she dropped to the floor. He would've taken that moment to run, but he had just gotten the door open. And Riku wished he hadn't.

There were black holes, there were time-space continuums, and there was nothingness. And then there was this.

This never-ending vortex of darkness seemed to expand endlessly. Riku blinked, and he proceeded to drag his mother's unconscious body toward the vortex.

She awoke to her head dangling over the edge of the threshold, stark white tiles contrasting with her dark doom.

Riku's mother swept her son off his feet, causing him to fall over her.

And all too suddenly, he was catapulted over the edge of the threshold, into the never-ending vortex of sheer darkness, alone.

* * *

><p>Adele shrieked, covering her face with her arms as debris flew everywhere. When she pulled her arms away, Terra's usual cobalt-blue eyes were a dangerous red. He had tendrils of darkness slithering up his arms, and his long fang-like canines jutted out of his upper lip. He was horrifying to her, the man who was just smiling at her minutes before. He turned and hissed at her, before attacking her. Adele fought, shrieking, until an incandescent light blasted from her fingertips.<p>

The beast snarled and writhed, his claws digging into the dirt walls. Adele stared at her hands. She wasn't supposed to get powers. The first born never does.

She stumbled back as the animal change back into her older companion. "Terra? Wh-what happened?"

"Addy! I'm sorry," he said, taking her trembling hands into his own.

"Get away from me," she growled, pulling her hands away fiercely, "What are you?"

"I died, and the gods brought me back to life, Addy. That... I don't know what that was."

"Mommy told me about that. How her best friend died. She never said why. Was that you? Were you her best friend?"

Terra nodded. He picked up Aqua's body and held it bridal style, cradling her head against his neck. He shuddered at her icy touch. "What are we gonna do about Audrey and Nate?"

"When Mommy wakes up, she'll fix it."

"How do you know for sure?"

"I just know!" she said, giggling.

Terra silently decided not to tell Adele that he thought he felt Aqua's nose wrinkle at the warm, familiar smell of his neck.

* * *

><p>Sora huffed as his rather large captor, Luxord, hit the table with force again.<p>

"Where is she?" His thick Russian-accent was flooded with frustration.

"I said I don't know!"

"Well," the burly man cracked his knuckles, "ocean or desert?"

"Dessert! Is it pie? Or strawberries?" Sora happily bounced in his seat, his tied hands bumping against the back of his chair.

The man laughed, "You are funny man, Sora. Too bad your humor won't help you here. You are stupid."

"I'm not stupid. I just made you believe so."

"Too late! After my good friend Axel beat you 'til the point of unconsciousness, he called us, and we dragged you onto this plane."

"I know that."

"But where are we going, yes?"

At this, Sora would have scratched his head, but he was too busy trying to untie his hands. Rubbing his lucky charm, a sharp, metal star shaped pendant that he kept from when he was little, against the rope, he was absolutely determined to get the hell out of here.

"Can we go to Inca Notica?" he asked, hiding his grin, "Or maybe Aqua Regia?"

He has "people" in both regions.

"The little Dalorian makes good point," Luxord muttered to his accomplices, "To Aqua Regia's bell tower!"

Sora cringed at the idea of falling off a ten-story tower. He peered out of the small window he was by. The bell tower wasn't far. "Why don't I just jump now?"

Luxord grinned. "Okay!"

The man dumped the Dalorian-House butler out the slide door of the green military plane with amazing ease.

As Sora was falling, he looked up in time to see Luxord cackling and a soft glimmer of someone else falling...

* * *

><p>Vanille burst through the hospital doors and rushed to the receptionist's desk. Composing herself she asked, "May I please see Prince Riku?"<p>

"Room 617."

"Thank you."

Vanille tucked her hair back behind her ears and fingered the flowers in her pockets again. She'd made it a habit already, and she hated the idea. Opening the door, she wasn't surprised to see him hooked up to so many wires.

She didn't like the sight at all, though. It made worry settle in the pit of her stomach. She took a deep breath, and silently made her way over to the bed. She grasped his hand.

"Riku..."

She pressed a hand to his beating heart and kissed his palm softly.

"I have a question," she said softly, pressing his hand to her face, "Who am I to you?"


End file.
